White Meat vs. Red Meat: Which One Is Better For Your Cholesterol?

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Do you suffer from high cholesterol? Have you heard, possibly for years, that white meat is better than red meat for this condition?

One more question:

Would it surprise you to learn that some studies have shown that white meat actually ISN’T better than red meat for your cholesterol?

If you answered yes to any of these questions (particularly the third one), you aren’t alone. I’ve always been told that white meat is better! But it turns out that may not be the case.

A recent study reported that white and red meat actually have a similar effect on cholesterol.

Who knew?! More importantly, how did this study even come to this conclusion?

How White Meat & Red Meat Affect Your Cholesterol

So basically (but obviously with a lot more work) this study compared diets high in red meat to those high in white meat or non-meat protein sources. It also took a look at whether the results change because of the amount of saturated fats. 

The study put people into different groups and then looked at their cholesterol numbers over the course of a month.

At the end of the study, it was found that consuming EITHER red or white meats caused a higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Also known as “LDL,” this is bad cholesterol that we aim to avoid!

LDL cholesterol was lowest with non-meat diets. Researchers also found that the amount of saturated fats didn’t matter all too much (although higher-saturated fat diets caused worse LDL cholesterol levels).

So, I know you’re thinking: what does this all mean?!

To put it super simply (because don’t we all prefer that): This study found that white meat affects cholesterol levels the same as red meat does.

When I first looked at this study, I kind of freaked out. If white meat doesn’t help my cholesterol, what does?! Is anything going to work??

Don’t worry! The study had some suggestions for this question, too.

The Best Protein For Lowering Your Cholesterol

The study found that plant-based protein can really help cholesterol! I don’t know about you, but I never even thought about this being an option.

What exactly IS plant-based protein?

Some of the best plant-based proteins include peanut butter (one of my favorites,) quinoa, black beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, sesame seeds, and nuts.

This is great news because protein is an essential part of any diet. With high cholesterol, it can be really tough to know what kind of protein to choose… especially with research showing that meat-based proteins can be equally bad for LDL numbers.

The biggest difference between animal- and plant-based protein is the amino acids that make up each of them. (Proteins are made up of these.)

A little earlier, I noted a bunch of great plant-based proteins. However, not all plant-based proteins contain the nine “essential” amino acids.

The good news is that there are a bunch that DO contain these essential amino acids!

If you’re looking for complete sources of protein, look for dairy products like cheese and milk. Buckwheat (and quinoa, as noted above) are also made up of all nine of these amino acids.

So…now you know a few things:

1) White and red meat may be equally bad for high cholesterol.

2) Plant-based proteins are better than both white and red meat for cholesterol problems.

3) There are plenty of delicious plant-based proteins!

4) Some plant-based proteins even include all nine essential amino acids, making them complete sources of protein.

The Benefits Of Plant-Based Proteins

Another question you may have (I definitely did when learning about this) is what else plant-based protein can do for your body.

Are there other benefits to switching to plant-based proteins? The answer is yes!

This analysis showed that eating more animal protein could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. This study did note that the link between cardiovascular disease and meat protein occurred in people with one or more lifestyle-related risk factor (like smoking or obesity).

All in all, there are so many other ways to help lower your bad cholesterol. Even if the idea of white meat being better for us isn’t real, there are plenty of other options!

What’s the takeaway here?

Try substituting some white and red meat out for plant-based proteins. They’re better for your cholesterol… and plant-based foods have plenty of other benefits (including helping with weight loss).

High cholesterol is not the end of the world, and now we all have an extra way to live a healthy lifestyle! Eating a wide variety of foods and opening up your diet to include more plants will help with living a healthy lifestyle… maintaining an ideal weight… and so much more.

The best thing about broadening your perspective on foods is that it allows you to get exactly what you need for your body! Being healthy doesn’t have to be restrictive.

So, start off right by beating that bad cholesterol – grab some quinoa, dairy, nuts… I can go on, the options are almost endless!

How Your Protein Choices Can Help Your Heart AND Your Waistline

Did you ever wish that you needed to EAT to lose weight?

I have good news: you can.

Choosing plant-based proteins over red AND white meats can really help out your heart and lower your cholesterol levels… but it offers something even more exciting.

Protein can also boost your weight loss!

That’s right – and it isn’t even about how much saturated fat is in your protein.

It’s actually about giving your body the nutrients it needs… and protein is essential for building muscle… repairing tissue… AND burning fat.

In fact, one study found that when people increased their protein intake by just 15-30% every day, they burned an average of 441 MORE calories!

Just by eating.

And if you did that day after day… imagine how much more stubborn fat you could be losing! (Even if you hate treadmills as much as I do!)

I did the research to find out exactly how much protein you need in order to reach max calorie burn and fat loss…

As well as the best time of day to eat your protein so your body can burn more fat and stay feeling full longer.

Plus, I found two other really simple, research-backed ways to increase fat burn… even in your sleep!

Click Here To Find Out How Much Protein You Need To Burn More Fat (Plus 2 More Easy Ways To Lose More Weight – Fast!)